Thursday, January 6 top stories
President Biden marks January 6 Capitol attack
Today President Joe Biden gave a speech at the Capitol to mark the one-year anniversary of the Capitol attack.
Biden said Trump, in his refusal to accept the results of the election, created and spread a web of lies and tried to prevent a peaceful transfer of power. Biden said Trump watched the Capitol attack on television from his private dining room in the White House and did nothing for hours.
Biden promised that he would defend this nation by making sure that the ballot prevails, not violence.
Donald Trump issued a statement after Biden’s speech. Trump said Biden is just trying to distract you from his failure as a president and using Trump’s name to try and further divide America.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jan-6-trump-responds-biden-divide-america
8 children, 4 adults killed in Philadelphia house fire
In Philadelphia, a row home caught on fire and tragically killed eight children and four adults on Wednesday morning. The home was a public housing property and was split into two apartments, Unit A on the first floor and Unit B on the second and third floor. Most, if not all, of the fatalities happened on Unit B. There were eight people living in Unit A and 18 people in Unit B. One person said they lost their three sisters and their eight children in the fire and that some were as young as 7. The cause of the fire has not been announced, but news reports said investigators think a Christmas tree caught on fire. The home had no working smoke detectors and it is not known why the smoke detectors didn’t work — the last time the detectors were inspected was in the spring and they were working then.
https://6abc.com/deadly-philly-fire-philadelphia-fatal-fairmount-house-duplex/11432074/
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/05/us/philadelphia-fairmount-fire/index.html
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Texas father killed in Chuck E. Cheese parking lot
A father of two girls was shot and killed on Friday at the parking lot of a Chuck E. Cheese in Humble, Texas. The father’s name was Calogero Duenes and he was 24. He was carrying a birthday cake for his 6-year-old daughter when he had a verbal confrontation with a driver who shot at him before fleeing. The father stumbled into the restaurant, told his wife that he got shot, and ran back outside before collapsing. Police said they have surveillance video that shows that the shooter drove the wrong way down a row of parking spaces and almost hit the father before the two had a verbal confrontation that led to the shooting. Police said they haven’t caught the shooter but they are investigating.
Australia blocks Djokovic from entry
The world’s top ranked men’s tennis player, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, has been blocked from entering Australia to play in the Australian Open over the country’s very strict coronavirus rules. The tournament requires all players and visitors to be vaccinated, but allows exemptions for specific reasons.
Djokovic has spoken out in the past about his opposition to the Covid-19 vaccine and has not said whether he is vaccinated or not. He said on Tuesday that he had “exemption permission” but when he landed in Melbourne Wednesday night, Australian Border Force officials rejected Djokovic’s evidence to support a medical exemption, revoked his visa, and placed him into an immigration detention hotel. Now it is up to a judge to settle the case, but the ruling will come Monday. That means Djokovic could be stuck at the hotel all weekend before finding out whether he will be deported or allowed entry.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison showed no sympathy for the situation, saying, “Rules are rules.” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Australia was harassing Djokovic.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59889522
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.